I Believe in You
by XLucy0117X
Summary: FemNaru's last days at the Academy, including the test, are not what she expected. Good thing Iruka and Kakashi are there for her!
1. You're Not the Demon!

*Chapter has been edited, most mistakes have been fixed*

So, another One-shot, or possible full story based on what you guys think. I know this sucks because it's absolutely just a recap of the original first episode only with a female Naruto, so I'm sorry about that. I just hope someone likes this. I was thinking of making it a full story, but that's up to the readers. I was going for an IrukaFem!Naru approach, but you guys can take it anyway that you want. After all, their behaviors towards each other can be interpreted as Father/Daughter and the beginning of a lover/lover relationship. Anyway, enjoy! (P.S. sorry about all the mistakes and grammar/spelling errors. I don't want to bother my beta with stupid possible One-shots.)

"What did you do this time, Naruko?" Iruka hissed blatantly. His brown hair was pulled back into a spiky pony tail, topped with the common Leaf Village hitaite. His green Chunin vest was large on him and his blue long sleeved shirt had a turtle neck. The neck went up to an inch from his chin. The red swirls on the sleeves by his upper arm were crinkled from the overuse of his clothes. The blue pants, the color of his long sleeved shirt, went to his ankles. His shoes were the usual ninja wear. His unmistakable scar that ran from just under his left eye to his right, crossing over his nose, had always freaked Naruko out whether she liked it or not.

Naruko, flinching before managing to replace her poker face, only shook her head in response.  
Naruko was a small girl even for her age. Reaching to be about three feet tall, her beautiful blonde hair fell just below her shoulder blades. It waved with the wind, lightly wrapping itself about her round face. Three whisker marks could be found on both cheeks. Her lips were pursed together in a thoughtful look as her nose scrunched up slightly. He looked at her atrocious green goggles with disdain; he wondered when she had decided wear them. She wore a blue tank top and an orange jacket over it. Her shorts were orange and her sandals blue.

A sly grin passed over Naruko's young, whiskered face before she answered him in a nonchalant voice. The girl seemed twitchy, if her roaming eyes were any evidence to that fact. Her marvelous ocean-blue eyes opened marginally as she took in the people behind her suspicious teacher. "Ne, Iruka-sensei, can we talk another time?" Her impatient voice sent warning bells through Iruka's ears. Turning his head, he wasn't surprised to come face to face with Mizuki.

Mizuki was a strange man whom not many knew much about. He had silver hair that fell to the tip of his Chunin vest and green mysterious eyes. His clothes were not unlike Iruka's.

"Where is that brat?" Iruka's best friend, Mizuki, spat out, glancing behind himself and Iruka. "That demon's gotta pay!" He continued in an angered tone.

Iruka gasped. "She was just here…and Mizuki, we can't speak of that. It's illegal." Iruka's eyes flashed about them, looking for anyone who could have heard. Finding none except a growing group of Chunins and Jounins, he continued in a quieter and more serious voice. "And Naruko is not like that." His eyes took in Mizuki's enraged person and couldn't help but contemplate that his best friend had changed from when they were friends. Not that long ago they had taken the academy teacher test together.

From the moment Iruka lost his parents to the nine-tailed fox, Mizuki had always been there for him, encouraging him on and helping him when he got depressed. But recently Mizuki had been expressing a great amount of contempt towards the little blonde haired girl with abnormal baby blue eyes.

Sighing, Iruka could only wish himself elsewhere as he asked his famed question. "What did Naruko do now?" And, since he probably didn't want to know, immediately found himself facing a full-blown headache.

"That brat turned the Sandaime Hokage's robe neon orange! How she did it, I have no idea but we're going to get her for it this time." Mizuki continued while gesturing to a group of Jounins and Chunins.

Iruka, almost not believing the sight before his eyes, immediately turned to his best friend disbelievingly. "You wouldn't, she's just a girl. You remember how I was, pranking people for attention. That's all she wants. What are you going to do to her, Mizuki?"

Upon hearing the next words, Iruka was barely able to contain the surprise etched across his scarred face. The words echoed through his ears as he watched the Chunin take off in the direction of the Hokage Mountain.

"What she deserves…" No, he wouldn't!

Between sprinting and jump from roof to roof, the scarred Chunin called out the girl's name desperately. "Naruko!" Coming to a complete stop in front of Ichiraku's, he prayed desperately that the little girl was in there eating her favorite food. Pushing aside the white flap, disappointment surged through him. Although no blonde haired girl was seen in her usual seat, he saw the gravity-defying silver hair that could belong to none other than Kakashi Hatake.

Said man didn't even turn to look at him as he burst through the door opening. Kakashi wore the usual Chunin vest with his blue under clothes. The infamous mask covered his face and the leaf hitaite his eye. Iruka wondered how he even managed to eat without pulling down his mask.

Swiveling to look at the old Ramen store owner who greeted him with a cheerful voice, he took in his usual appearance. The chef hat sat proudly on his head while the white shirt and pants were covered partly by the blue apron.

"Hey, Teuchi, you haven't seen Naruko at all, have you?" He asked, scratching the back of his head in his usual habit.

"No, should I tell her you're looking for her if I do see her?" The old Ramen store owner asked happily. Ayame, his daughter, waved at Iruka just as joyfully before turning back to the ramen she was cooking.

"No. If you see her, hide her, will you?" At that Kakashi turned in his seat slowly to scrutinize the younger man. His one eye focused on Iruka's, confusion clear within their depths.

"Did she do something again?" Teuchi asked, feeling the same as Kakashi.

"Yes, and this time she's got a mob chasing after her." Iruka's voice had a hint of urgency to it, and Kakashi immediately caught onto it.

"Maa, if you'd like I could help. Two is better than one…" He suggested indifferently though his lone eye promised pain to whoever crossed him.

Iruka, for the second time in his life, couldn't understand why Kakashi seemed to get passionate as soon as the orphaned girl came up. The first time was when the child had been tricked into going into the Black Hills to collect items from the aftermath of a battle. As foolish as her decision was, Iruka couldn't help but feel her actions were somewhat justified by her feelings. Perhaps not everyone desperate enough to have friends would go into an area where a battle had just occurred and try to take evidence and/or items, but there's many things people would do to have friends. Iruka knew that better than anyone. Perhaps that was why he connected so well with Naruko.

As soon as Iruka had found Naruko, he knew he would regret coming after the young girl. Remembering her words, Iruka's eyes softened a bit. "Shut up! Why do you act like a teacher only at times like this? You don't understand my feelings. Even if I go back to the academy, things won't be any different! I'm always alone. I'm always left out. Nobody cares about me!" And then, to Iruka's embarrassment, he bled and passed out after witnessing Naruko's 'killer jutsu'. But, soon after, the remaining foreign spies appeared and attacked the two. As soon as Kakashi had shown up and defeated the nins, Iruka no longer regretted his decision. Looking at little Naruko's exhausted but clearly safe body, he was actually quite happy to have saved the girl. After thanking Kakashi profusely, he took Naruko home. Perhaps that was the day that Iruka realized he was so like the girl.

"I don't want to bother you, Kakashi-san. I'm sure you're really busy…"  
"No, I don't mind at all." The Copy Cat Ninja persisted.

"Then that would actually be a lot of help since she's got many ninjas following her. I don't understand why she can't just stay out of trouble, though,"

"If that's so, then we must hurry."

_**Two years later**_

Luckily they had found Naruko just as the other nins began to slowly surround her. Luckily that Kakashi was such a popular man, everyone left quickly, each hoping they wouldn't have to fight him. Iruka couldn't help but be glad for Kakashi's reputation for having learned over a thousand jutsus. However, Naruko ended up with the shorter straw, getting a wild and ferocious lecture from Iruka. What angered the girl even more was the annoying eye smile Kakashi had given her throughout the whole lecture while waiting for Iruka to finally finish what he had to say. Once again showering Kakashi with thank you's after the long lecture, he made Naruko say hers as well. Iruka took her home, not wanting some stray ninjas to take advantage of her not having an escort. Not long afterwards he had to report to the Sandaime Hokage the seriousness of the villagers' mistreatment towards Naruko.

Iruka was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of Shikamaru's snoring. Picking up a chalk eraser, Iruka chucked it at the snoring boy before lecturing him. "Pay attention! I'm not going to repeat myself and it's not my fault if you guys fail the exams."

As his eyes swept the crowd of kids sitting at their desks, he couldn't help but cringe at where most of the looks were directed to. The brunt of the adoring gazes was upon Sasuke Uchiha who had his everlasting brooding look on. His fan club, which consisted mostly of girls with the same behavior as Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka, were nearly drooling upon themselves. Only one person was actually glaring at the uncaring boy though, and unsurprisingly that one person was none other than Naruko Uzumaki.

Naruko hadn't changed much in over the years. She had recently bought an orange and blue jumpsuit. To put it simply it was the worst piece of clothing Iruka had ever seen, especially since she was training to be a ninja. Wearing clothing like that was suicide out on missions. The green goggles still sat proudly upon her head and her hair was still down to her shoulder blades.

Deciding he wasn't going to accomplish anything anymore, Iruka sighed. "Fine, the final exams are in a couple days. Practice, train and be ready. The rest of class will be a study hall. I'll be back, so don't do anything you'll regret." He warned before leaving the class room slowly but surely.

As soon as the sliding door was shut he heard the shouts of Sakura and Ino attack his ears.

_**Naruko POV:**_

When the door finally shut close and Iruka was gone from my sight, I knew I was going to regret coming to class today.

As the pink banshee, aka Sakura Haruno, and Ino got into their annual 'Sasuke likes me more' fight, I turned to the boy who was the reason for their fight. I glared at him intently, wondering what the heck all the girls saw in him. From what I could see, all he is is a brooding teme who doesn't know when to relax. I could change that, though, with a few pranks…

"Sasuke's such a teme," I murmured unknowingly.

"NARUKO!" Squirming slightly in my seat, I couldn't help but pray to anyone listening that I didn't somehow die within the few minutes Iruka wasn't present. Turning to look at the girl who had rudely called for my attention, I grimaced at the look on Sakura's face. Sadly, this time the girl had reinforcements from Ino and other girls from the infamous fan club.

"Heh heh, S–Sakura-chan–" Inching away from the fist the pink haired girl was waving about in my face, I quietly surveyed her surroundings, looking for something to catch the girl's attention before attacking her. "O-oi! Look! Sasuke's smiling!" I cried loudly, causing the Sasuke fan club to direct their attention to the boy who was not, in fact, smiling at all. Actually, the glare that was sent my way could have been described as evil and nothing less than piercing and hateful.

Taking my chance, I rushed over to the window, shoved it open and climbed outside. Perhaps I could get some actual training done before the exam in a few days.

_**Regular POV:**_

Days later found Naruko failing her Genin tests. Scowling angrily at the written test, she found herself scribbling random answers like 'Iruka's a pervert' on the questions she didn't know the answers to. Finally seeing one she may be able to answer, she read the question to herself.

'What is chakra?' Naruko frowned to herself. 'Do they mean chatora?' Realizing she'd never finish the test with real answers, she filled the rest in with 'Mizuki smells'.

The Taijutsu test was one she failed miserably as well, much to her displeasure. Failing Genjutsu much like the other tests, she hoped she could pass her Ninjutsu test.

Striding into the room proudly but with a small amount of uncertainty, she looked over to the examiner's table where Mizuki and Iruka sat. She took a deep breath before coming to stand in front of them. The two surveyed her and gestured for her ready herself.

"The clone jutsu is my worst jutsu! But still…I will do it! I will manage!" Forming the sign with her hands, Naruko focused on her chakra before crying out, "Clone jutsu!"

Looking over to her clone, she couldn't help but cover her mouth as her teeth gritted together. Laying down on the ground beside her, the clone's tongue hung out in an odd way while the body itself was spread upon the ground like an eagle. The arms were lie to the clone's sides while the eyes, that had no pupil, focused on nothing.

Iruka's half smirk looked almost as if he were grimacing, his eyebrow twitching uncontrollably. "Disqualified!" He cried after a moment's hesitance.

Naruko's expression darkened considerably before she looked down, tears welling up but not falling.

"Iruka-sensei," Mizuki started, his words coming out smooth as if they were rehearsed. His silver hair was the only other in the village to Kakashi's. Thankfully the hair was long enough it came to his Chunin vest and did not have Kakashi's spiky, anti-gravitation characteristics. His grassy green eyes, cold and contemplating, jerked over to Iruka. His lips formed a small half smirk.

"Her physical condition and stamina are excellent. She managed to come up with something. Isn't that enough for her to pass?" Mizuki asked loudly, his eyes taking in the suddenly happy Naruko.

Naruko smiled gratefully despite the little voice inside her that was warning her that Mizuki was up to something. Of all the times he had tried to hurt her and get her in trouble, she knew he wouldn't just do something like this.

"…Mizuki-sensei…" Iruka started slowly as if he were trying to choose his words right. "All the other kids managed to make three or more clones. Naruko made only one and it's basically useless. I can't pass her." Sending Naruko an apologetic frown, Naruko felt hate flare inside her.

Was her best never enough? All she did was train and she never got anything out of it. The kids even call her 'dobe'. Would she ever find her place in this village? This village that hurt her, attacked her and scorned her?

Sniffling loudly, she rushed from the room while pulling down the ugly green goggles over her eyes. She rushed over to 'her' swing and sat down. As kids from her class piled out of the room, each wearing a hitaite, she couldn't help the tears that trickled down her face.

Sudden footsteps caught Naruko's attention and she wiped the tears from her face before facing her sensei Mizuki. Naruko sent him a questioning gaze, but he smiled back sadly yet confidently.

Over on the other side of the Academy doors, the Sandaime Hokage and Iruka spoke together in low tones, both watching Mizuki cautiously.

"Iruka, we need to talk later." Came the order.

"Yes, sir." Iruka answered automatically.

Naruko followed Mizuki slowly. They finally reached their destination up in a high building. They sat down, both watching the sunset with weary eyes. After sitting there for a good five minutes, Naruko made to leave but Mizuki only gestured for her to sit down again. She did so as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Iruka isn't trying to be mean, Naruko." Mizuki told her in his soft, comforting voice.  
"Then why only me?" Naruko asked aloud. She had been wondering about that for so long now. Why was it only she that Iruka was so stern with? It seemed she was the only one who took the brunt of Iruka's anger. But the reason why confused her.

"He cares about you. He wants you to get strong from the very bottom of his heart." Mizuki allowed bitterly. "You're both orphans."

Naruko turned to him questioningly before responding. "I really wanted to graduate…"

"I guess I have no choice," Mizuki sighed before smiling a little too slyly at her for her comfort.

"I'll let you in on a big secret, Naruko."

"Huh?" Was Naruko's intelligent response.

_**Four hours later**_

Iruka lie in bed, thinking over the Sandaime Hokage's words.

"Iruka, I know how you feel."

"Hokage–sama?"

"Naruko also grew up without the love of her parents…like you."

Iruka's thoughts flashed back to the Kyuubi attack, the Chunin dragging him back to his house after he had chased after his parents. They had left to assist in protecting the village from the demon. They never returned…

"Wake up, Iruka! Come to the Hokage's! It's urgent! Naruko stole the Scroll of Sealing!" Iruka shoved his door open, the crazed face of Mizuki waking him up completely. Then the words hit him. Naruko stole the Scroll of Sealing?

Voicing his concerns out loud, Iruka was answered with Mizuki tugging on his sleeve eagerly. "Yes, now come on!" Iruka threw on his vest and hitaite before scrambling out the door.

"Hokage-sama, we cannot forgive her!"

"This isn't like one of her pranks!"

"The scroll is dangerous! That's why it was sealed by our ancestor, the first Hokage! Depending on how it's used, it can be the downfall of Konohagakure!"

Dropping his head for the slightest second, one might think that the Hokage was mulling over his choices. But, almost as if they had imagined it, the Sandaime Hokage nodded. With the wave of his hand, he called out, "Yes! Bring me Naruko Uzumaki!"

Each and every Jounin and Chunin nodded their approval before disappearing in a wave of dust.

With Iruka, he stopped on top of a store, gasping for breath while thinking over all of Naruko's favorite places in his head. 'Naruko, where are you?'

Coming up with one place she could be, he sprinted quicker, hoping to be the first to find her. Not too far from Iruka was Mizuki, a large shuriken hung upon his back proudly. One glance at him and one would know that Mizuki was in for the kill, not capture as the Hokage wanted it. 'I'll tell everyone in the village about this and eliminate that brat! Then that Scroll of Sealing will be mine!' He smirked maliciously before continuing his sprint for the poor girl.

Iruka found Naruko not that later sitting by a large shed huffing and puffing for air. On her back sat the scroll, tightly bound to her back. Iruka strode up to her menacingly, pondering on what he would lecture her with this time.

"Hey, you, Naruko!" He growled out, glaring at her intensely. Naruko simply giggled lightly, the noise sounding foreign coming from her throat. She rubbed the back of her head much like Iruka before her.

"Awww, you found me. And I've only managed to master one jutsu. No fair, sensei!" She stood up, and Iruka was surprised to see that she was covered in dirt and grime. Her clothes were wrinkled and her breath continued to come out uneven.

'Was she…practicing one of those forbidden jutsus?' He asked himself.

"Listen here, sensei! I'm going to show you this awesome jutsu and you'll graduate me if I do it correctly, right? That's what Mizuki said!"

Dumbfounded, Iruka could only let his jaw drop before stuttering out, "Who told you that?"  
Naruko smiled happily before crying out, "Mizuki-sensei did! He told me all about this place and how you can pass if you manage to sneak out this scroll and master a jutsu on here. And guess what, sensei, I did it!"

'M–Mizuki did?' Before he could contemplate on it further, barrage of kunai and shuriken flew out towards Iruka and Naruko. Acting on instinct, Iruka quickly shoved Naruko away who fell to the ground as Iruka was slashed and cut at by the flying weapons. Eventually they pinned him to the wall of the shed, some of his clothes being pierced into the older wood. "I see now," Iruka gritted out between clenched teeth.

Mizuki was crouched upon a tree limb, watching the sight with owlish eyes. Grinning to himself, Mizuki pushed himself up into a standing position while holding onto the trunk of the tree for support.

"Naruko, please hand over that scroll." Mizuki called to her in a sickly sweet voice.

From her position on the ground, Naruko wondered why he had any right to ask such a thing from her after all he did.

"Naruko," Iruka called softly but fiercely. "Never give him that scroll! It contains dangerous forbidden Ninjutsus that the first Hokage had sealed. Mizuki is a traitor and he'll give it away to one of Konoha's enemies. Mizuki used you to get it for himself!" Mizuki frowned, his hands now upon his waist in a disapproving manner.

"Naruko, Iruka's only afraid of you having that scroll in your possession. Just hand it over." He held his hand out towards her.

"Mizuki, stop lying! Naruko, don't listen to him!"

"Hmm, I'll tell you the truth, Naruko." Mizuki told her in a mocking voice. "Twelve years ago there was an incident. Then, a rule was made. Everyone in Konohagakure knows it except you."

"Me? Why just me?" Naruko asked in a frightened, unsure voice. She climbed to her knees as Iruka shouted at Mizuki for him to stop. Naruko ignored him and waited for Mizuki's answer. Maybe she would find out why everyone hated her, why no one would be friends with her…

"The rule forbids everyone and anyone from revealing that you are the true spirit of the demon fox, Kyuubi! The demon fox that killed Iruka's parents, destroyed the village, and forced the Yondaime Hokage to fight until his last breath to finish it off. You are Kyuubi. Everyone's been misleading you since you were born. I bet you wondered why everyone hated you. Nobody accepts you. Iruka hates you."

Tears once again leaked out of Naruko's eyes and she couldn't help the cries of 'no' that came from her mouth. Anger welled up inside her as a strange and foreign chakra engulfed her in its hold.

As Iruka watched her with saddened eyes, his thoughts travelled back to the talk with the Hokage once again. He remembered the Hokage explaining the reason why Naruko played pranks. 'To gain attention and acknowledgement' as the Hokage had said it. Just yesterday Naruko had done something that had nearly all of the ninjas after her. She had drawn crude drawings all over the Hokage's faces on the Hokage Mountain. The drawings showed some of the Hokages with snot coming out of their mouth, the Uzumaki sign upon their cheeks, eye makeup…Naruko was lucky Iruka had caught her before anyone else could have.

"Die, Naruko!" Mizuki cried, forcefully pulling Iruka from his thoughts. The large shuriken that had been attached to Mizuki's back was now flying through the air towards the unsuspecting Naruko.

"Naruko, look out!" Before he knew it, Iruka was pulling his clothing away from the kunai and shuriken. Leaping in front of the cowering small girl just in time, He felt the piercing pain of the shuriken lodging itself in his back side.

Looking up at her sensei through her dark eye lashes, she was surprised to see him upon his hands and knees over her body. His body jerked as the weapon stabbed him, but as he cried, a smile crept up his face. Coughing up some blood, Iruka closed his eyes.

"Why?" Naruko asked fearfully.

Her back was on the ground and her elbows propped her up enough so that Iruka and her face were a foot away from each other. The Scroll of Sealing still on her back but now forgotten, she held back her sudden want to scream at Iruka for being so stupid.

Numerous thoughts ran through her head as she gazed up at her sensei's face. They all could have been linked back to the one thought, 'Why did he save me? Is he stupid? Why would he save me of all people? Doesn't he hate me for killing his parents?'

"…Because you and I are the same. Nobody paid attention or even cared about me when my parents died. I became the class clown for the sole purpose of gaining other kids attention. I wasn't a good student." He frowned slightly as he said this but continued in a darker tone, "I did it because I couldn't get attention through excellence, so I did those stupid things. It was so hard…Isn't that right, Naruko?" A tear drop fell upon her face. "You felt really lonely and you suffered so much, didn't you? Aren't I right?" More of Iruka's tears found their way upon Naruko's face as she stared up at him disbelievingly. "If I only I had been more responsible you wouldn't have suffered so much. I'm so sorry!"

A chilling laugh broke through the tension. "Don't make me laugh; Iruka hated you since you were born!" Mizuki tried again. "He just wants that scroll!"

Naruko scrambled out from under Iruka and took off into the woods running.  
"Naruko! Naruko!" The girl's teacher with the shuriken protruding from his back called.

"Look at those eyes…those are the eyes of a demon. She's going to betray the village and steal the scroll, Iruka. Maybe she'll even give it away to one of Konoha's enemies." Mizuki pondered in a casual tone.

"She wouldn't!"

Naruko, standing behind a tree some distance away, held a hand over her mouth to stifle her breathing. She listened as they continued their conversation.

"Why would you protect something that killed your family, Iruka?"

"I won't let someone as stupid as you get that scroll!" Iruka pushed himself to a sitting position as Mizuki dropped from his tree to stand before the other man. Mizuki glared down at Iruka as the latter gritted his teeth in pain.

"Me? An idiot? No, you're the idiot. Naruko is just like me. Anyone can do anything they want once they have that scroll. No way is a monster going to let an opportunity like that pass them by!" Iruka shouted the last part, his arms flying about him.

"Yes," Iruka agreed. "You're right…"

Naruko, hearing the last part, felt tears once again slip down her face. 'I guess Mizuki-sensei was right all along. Iruka never cared for me. He just wanted the scroll. I'm such a fool!'

"…if she was the fox spirit, Kyuubi. But Naruko is different. She is an exceptional student that works really hard but is single-minded and clumsy as well. She's not a demon. She's Naruko Uzumaki of the Hidden Village in the Leaves!

Mizuki, making a face between 'is he stupid' and 'who cares', shook his head sadly. "I've just decided something. I wasn't going to kill you until later if at all, but I just decided I'm going to kill you right here and now." Just as he pulled out another shuriken, this time much smaller but sharper and raced towards Iruka, Naruko came flying out from behind the tree, her foot aimed at his chest. Upon impact she flipped backwards toward Iruka, the scroll still upon her back. Mizuki was pushed in the opposite direction, and flew back enough into a large trunk of a tree.

"Heh, you almost scared me there, freak,"

"If you ever touch Iruka-sensei, I'll kill you!" Naruko cried in a condescending voice.

"Just try, demon-brat!"

Naruko, already making the signs for her new jutsu, cried out, "Kage bunshin no jutsu!" just as a hundred clones appeared in puffs of smoke. Each one stood in different positions, some with their hands linked behind their heads and others in Taijutsu stances.

Iruka, stunned, shakes his head at Naruko fondly. 'You've grown, Naruko…And not only are those clones, but they're actual solid clones! That's a B-ranked Ninjutsu!'

"I thought you wanted me to try, idiot! Aren't you going to fight me? Come on, aren't I just the demon brat?" A hundred voices mocked together. Mizuki jumped in surprise before his eyes widened marginally.

'No, it can't be…' Falling to his bottom, he glanced at the Naruko's before him. Starting to shake in fear, Mizuki gasped for breath. "It's not possible!" He screamed as a hundred Narukos leaped out while waving their fists threateningly.

Minutes later after Iruka managed to pull Naruko away from Mizuki's somehow alive body, she rubbed the back of her head with her hand, a grin sprouting upon her face. "Heh heh, sorry, Iruka-sensei, I kinda got carried away." Reaching behind her to release the Scroll of Sealing from her back, she reached out to hand it to Iruka. "Are you okay, sensei? Here's the scroll."

"I'm fine," 'She's really something, taking on a Chunin and defeating him so easily.' Smiling right back at her before gripping the scroll tightly in both hands, he glanced down at the small girl before him.

Not realizing what he's doing, he dropped the precious scroll to the side before wrapping his arms around Naruko in a tight hug.

Stiffening slightly due to never having someone care for her, she soon relaxed in his caring hug.

"Thank goodness you weren't hurt. Oh, and congratulations."

"For what?" She asked as he removed his arms from around her. He reached up and pulled his hitaite off his forehead and waved it in front of her face.

"For passing the exam. You can clearly make a clone of yourself. Mizuki's eyes must have been really bad during the test. Along with prison, his eyesight should be checked out…" Naruko could only stare at him, a dumbfounded expression etching across her face.

"Really? You mean it, sensei?"

"Of course," He lightly undid the ugly green goggles before replacing them with his hitaite. "You are now officially a ninja of Konohagakure. In celebration, we're going to have ramen tonight…It's on me, so you don't have to pay." Iruka adopted one of those annoying eye smiles but Naruko didn't focus on that as she jumped out and latched her arms about her sensei's neck.

"Thank you so much!" She cried, tears streaming down her face.

"Ow! Naruko, that hurts!" He exclaimed as he fell to the ground. "Naruko!"

'Naruko, I was going to lecture about being a ninja. It only gets harder today on. I was going to lecture you, but you're just going to have to wait for it until we get to Ichiraku's.'


	2. Harem Jutsu!

_**Go down and you'll see where chapter two originally ended, and where it starts up again. :)**_

_**~Naruko Uzumaki~**_

"Rejected; take it again." The Sandaime Hokage deadpanned, his eyes still staring almost blankly down at the picture Naruko had handed to him. His fingers gripped the picture tightly, both hands holding it in front of his face. With a sigh he closed his eyes, waiting for the storm Naruko had probably started brewing at the exact moment he had turned her down. Sure enough, he wasn't let down in the slightest.

"What?" She screamed angrily, her eyes wide with surprise and disbelief. "No way! I worked really hard on that. It took me _three hours_–it was like an art masterpiece when I finished!" She unknowingly had pulled herself to the edge of her seat, her heels now grinding against the ground, but she didn't seem to notice that fact through the irritation that had overtaken her mind at the moment.

"We can't accept this photo." The Sandaime Hokage repeated slowly and plainly, his eyes still shut. He was still trying to work out what she had done in the photo that he continued to hold in his hands.

Naruko had drawn blood red spirals on her cheeks and the palms of her hands, but that's not all either. That was the littlest thing she did compared to the rest of her body and face. She painted herself a ghastly pale white, most likely because of the contrast between the dark red and white, but the Hokage didn't plan to think anymore of the situation other than her taking her photo again. While Naruko's hair was usually a bright yellowish color and the order was messy and spiky, she had changed it. Unsure of how she managed it, the Hokage felt a small headache coming on. Her hair had been done up into a small, pointed mess on top of her head. No hair had escaped the hair gel–or whatever she had used–and was all put into the spikes on top of her head.

Letting go of the picture and allowing it to drop down onto the desk in front of him, Hiruzen rubbed his forehead in an unsuccessful gesture to ease his pain. Opening his eyes, he was greeted by the sight of Naruko's glare. A small growl was emerging from behind her lips, but the old leader of the village wasn't about to lose to a Genin.

With a last desperate snarl, Naruko made up her mind. She pulled her fingers into the Dog formation, then the Boar and Ram. "Transform!"

Her cry was the only noise in the room as the puff of smoke filled the room the best it could, making it impossible to see what Naruko had changed into during her haste.

Slowly but surely the clouds of smoke began to disappear in little groups. When most of the clouds were cleared, Hiruzen could barely process anything except where his bugged–out eyes were staring. They were fixed on the small hovering cloud over the gorgeous girl's most private parts but that didn't hide the sensual cleavage rising to just above the suspended cloud.

"Please, please, _please_, _Hokage – sama_?"

His eyes moved upwards quickly, just barely in time to take in the teen's lusciously flowing dark black hair that swayed and tickled the tops of her bare shoulders. The eyes that Naruko had chosen to henge with were a deep, murky black. Hiruzen would know those eyes anywhere; but before he could comment on it, his took in her position. Blood spurted from his nose as his eyes suddenly became hazy. Leaning back into his chair a little too much, he fell backwards with a creepy perverted smile creeping upwards on his pale lips.

Naruko unhinged with a permanent twitch in her eye, a hand outstretched towards the old leader, who had once been named the 'Professor'. A confused expression crossed the girl's face as she stumbled over her words, not knowing what to say.

"Uh…eh…uh…um…"

The Hokage slowly started to get up while pulling out a hanky from somewhere inside his robe. He sat down at his chair, an elbow on the desk while the other hand wiped away the remaining blood.

A few words were exchanged, the Sandaime's thoughts twirling like ballerinas, as he tried to process her description of the jutsu. Naruko's proud face swam before his vision; the headache worsened.

"That's called the…_Sexy Jutsu_ you say?" He murmured, sounding a little embarrassed but he didn't show it. Then, unexpectedly, his tone took on a scolding tone. "A very devious jutsu…It wouldn't be proper to use it." He tried to cut out most of the jutsu except the details such as her hair and eyes. She looked almost like an Uchiha, but the powerful leader didn't comment on it.

"Speaking of the village, where is your headband?"

The girl adjusted her goggles uneasily, but the sheepish grin remained. "I didn't wanna mess it up or scratch it–" She stopped in the middle of her sentence and glanced over towards the doorway where she swore she could hear someone's heavy breathing and the sound of a weapon being pulled out. Cocking her head to the side, she watched as the person from behind the door slid it open and burst through.

In her peripheral vision, she noted how the Hokage didn't seem surprised, but annoyed. Letting that sink in, she relaxed in her seat as she watched the scene unravel–you could say–itself.

"I challenge you! I'm gonna defeat you, old man, and become the next Hokage–the Godaime Hokage!" As the boy sprinted towards his target, he clutched as small blunt shuriken in his hand tightly. His speed was slow, Naruko also noted.

He wore the oddest clothing, a pale yellow shirt showing off the Konohagakure no Sato symbol with light grey pants that stopped a few inches above the ankle. A patched up helmet sat upon his circular head, a red dot just on the left side and a larger yellow one on the right. The helmet allowed his tall, brown hair to stick out in spikes at the top. A long, dark blue scarf wrapped around the child's neck and dragged along the ground behind him. Naruko swore it almost looked like a cape of some kind. If she didn't know better, she'd say it was.

During his sprint towards the Hokage at the desk not far from the door, he tripped and face planted onto the ground. Moaning, he pulled his hands up to clutch his head in pain. Tears threatened to spill down his eyes and his toothy sneer transformed into a grimace. Seconds later the sound of heavy footsteps warned Naruko someone else was coming.

As the man entered the room through the same door the young boy did, Naruko scrutinized him with her azure eyes. He wore the usual blue Chunin and Jounin undershirt and pants, two red spirals on each shoulder marking him as so. He wore a thick, dark blue bandanna that held the Leaf hitaite on the front. What surprised Naruko the most was the black, circular glasses hanging off of the man's nose.

The child crawled to his knees and grasped his head in pain. Rubbing the spot as if it would feel better with the pressure, he ground out between ragged breaths, "Something tripped me!"

The strange glasses man looked back and forth between the Hokage, Naruko and the boy and finally addressed the higher powered man first. "Hokage–sama!" He bowed low in respect before turning to the child still sitting on his knees in front of the Hokage's desk. "Are you okay, Honorable Grandson?" He put his forefinger and thumb on the glass edge of his glasses and pushed it up higher on his face as he spoke in a panicky, informative voice. "By the way…the floor here is smooth…uh...I don't think there's anything for you to trip on."

_'Who the heck is this shrimp?'_ Naruko asked herself in disbelief.

The small boy and his apparent sensei looked over to Naruko at once, almost as if they were just realizing she were there.

The child pointed over towards Naruko accusingly while screaming, "Hey! I bet you were the one who tripped me, aren't you?" His finger came inches from Naruko's face and enough was enough for her.

Gripping him suddenly by his large scarf, she held him tightly in one hand while the other pulled back in a threatening way to indicate a punch. "I didn't do anything, dwarf! You tripped over your own feet!" Her hand clenched into a firm fist, the knuckles turning white from the fierce grip.

Stopping to hear the kid's sensei call out to her, she scrunched her face at the information. _'Who cares?'_ She thought to herself.

"You can't hurt me. I'm the _Hokage's grandson_." Naruko's grip on him tightened and she glared down at the taunting face grinning up at her.

"I don't care if he's your great grandmother! Dattebayo!" With that, Naruko made her move and punched the Hokage's grandson right on the top of the head, her idea being to hit him where it would hurt most–where he fell earlier. The boy fell down in a faint as Naruko waved uncaringly to the Hokage.

"I'll go retake that picture, then. See ya later, Jiji!" The last part sounded happier while the first was more of a grumble in complaint. She walked out of the room and past the surprised and bewildered sensei.

Walking down the market place, Naruko couldn't shake the feeling that someone was following her. Suddenly stopping and glancing behind her, Naruko caught sight of someone holding a blanket over their head. She sweat dropped before walking at a faster pace.

She heard the blanket being discarded thanks to her sensitive ears, but still she ignored it until she heard the person stumbling along behind her. Whipping around, she caught sight of the kid from earlier frantically trying to pull out something and cover himself with it.

"I know you're following me, shrimp. Give up and tell me what you're doing." She put her hands on her hips.

"I want you to teach me! You can be my sensei and I'll be your apprentice!"

–_**Naruko Uzumaki—**_

"And then–and then Konohamaru's sensei, this creepy perverted guy named Ebisu, came after us and claimed that there were shortcuts to become a ninja. But I put him in his place. Then Konohamaru declared me his rival!" The words spewed from her lips like a waterfall.

Iruka listened to her while calmly pulling some ramen into his mouth with his chopsticks. His eyes fixed on her sunny smile and suddenly felt some happiness fill him. He ignored the ramen being slurped noisily and the few strands that remained hanging from her lips; someone else will have to teach her manners one day...someone that's not him.

According to Naruko, she learned who the young kid was; a boy named Konohamaru. She agreed to teach him, but they were caught by the kid's teacher, Ebisu.

"I came up with this new combination jutsu, too, Iruka–sensei!" Iruka paused for a second before continuing with his meal. He felt somewhat cautious but was more so filled with pride. Wow; she created her own combination jutsu herself? The suspicion returned, but he decided to just ignore the feeling.

"Oh yeah? What was it?"

"Harem Jutsu!"

Iruka choked on his ramen, his face heating up the color of a tomato.

_**[A/N: updated part]**_

–_**Naruko Uzumaki–**_

__"Okay, class," Iruka started, his eyes upturned slightly in a smile. One could compare it to Kakashi's, but the difference would be overwhelming. "We're going to separate into our groups." Voices filled the classroom and, much to Iruka's surprise, Sasuke's joined the others. "What, you guys thought you would be going on solo missions on your own? Of course not; you'll be on a squad of three with your Jounin instructor. Your groups have been chosen already so if you don't like who you're with, deal with it. Team one will consist of–"

Naruko's scowl caught Iruka's glance more than once, but he didn't waste too much time watching her. He continued down the list until he got to Naruko's team, team seven. He composed his face and relaxed his body despite the fact he was beyond tense on the inside. It was no secret among the Jounins that Naruko's team had the famed 'Rookie of the year', Sasuke, but no one really wanted him due to the fact that Naruko and Sakura were part of the package deal. After all, dead last and both 'Rookies of the year' were always put together on a team…

"Naruko," Said girl's head perked up in interest before her eyes widened in surprise at the next name. "Sakura," Sakura moaned before throwing her pink head into her hands in shame. She was going to be on the _dead last's_ team.

Naruko cheered; as much as she disliked the girl, this would be fun to torture her with. Of course this also meant they would have to share tents on missions, work together, live together in some cases, listen to her complaining…by the end of her thoughts, Naruko's outstretched hands that had flown up in a cheer fell to her sides limply and her lip puckered out into a pout. She didn't think that one out all that well.

"..and Sasuke. On team eight–" A loud, girlish squeal rang in Naruko's ears as she had began to sit down back at her desk. Her small hands clapped over her abused ears as Sakura let out a loud, 'Yatta!'. Pink hair flew upwards as Sakura jumped up and down in her spot beside Sasuke. By now, Naruko felt tears springing to her eyes.

How did she end up with the world's loudest banshee _and_ the world's biggest teme? Oh, right! She's the deadlast and they're the 'Rookies of the Year'.

Iruka eyed the three; one crying girl, a grinning maniac and a brooding boy…how did Kakashi always end up with the weird ones? After all, his team consisted of him, a prodigy; Obito, the boy who's late for everything and Rin, who was a medic who could've rivaled Tsunade's talents. Oh, and you can't forget the Yondaime Hokage, who was the craziest of them all; with his love of ramen and habit of training his team mercilessly. Yes, Kakashi always had the weird ones…

From what he had heard, this Genin group he'd be taking on is more like his old Genin team then one would think possible. Naruko was more or less a female version of Obito, Sakura was an…in process working of Rin and Sasuke was like Kakashi himself. The Kakashi of today is, apparently from what others have said, nothing like what he was in the past. Iruka also doubted he could be compared to the Yondaime Hokage in anyway despite the fact they are both hard workers. After all, Kakashi has a strange addiction to porn written by the Yondaime Hokage's sensei, Jiraiya.

He finished calling out the teams' arrangements before flashing another sympathetic half smile at Naruko. Her team would need all the help it could get. After all, those three had never spoken to each other on civil terms.

"Your senseis should be here after the lunch hour. Be patient until then, and listen to them carefully. You're ninjas now." He pulled his work together in a pile, ordering and sorting them before silently leaving the classroom. He headed towards the Hokage's Mansion quickly, his mind intent on talking to Kakashi before he picked up his team.

Finally in front of the room where the senseis should be having their meeting about their students, he reached out and gripped the handle tightly before twisting it to the side and yanking it open. What he found–thankfully not one of Naruko's surprise pranks–was not something he expected. Nearly every sensei was still here, talking about one topic in particular: Naruko.

Iruka's gaze swept over the dark and enclosed room, searching for the old Hokage and large, anti-gravitation silver hair. He found neither. He perked up when he heard someone, namely Kurenai, exclaim; "Poor Naruko, she's not going to outlive that one."

The large group of other shinobi sensei's laughed loudly although a few seemed to look somewhat sympathetic.

"The way that that backfired on her; hilarious!"

"And the Uchiha's reaction! Poor boy, having to kiss that _monster_,"

Iruka had enough. Whatever that was about…Naruko kissing Sasuke would have to be dealt with later. Right now he had to take care of some shinobis.

"Naruko's not like that." His voice echoed and stopped every other noise in the room. The words seemed to send everyone into a silent trance. That is, until they got angry. Iruka ignored the yells at him, some proclaiming him a monster's friend, some telling him to just leave since he wasn't a real man.

Iruka obliged, seemingly upset, unaware of the one black and two old eyes watching him leave.

_**A/N: Hiya! Hiatus over! I'll try to update a chapter of one of my stories every other day. I decided to finish the writing of chapter two of 'I Believe in You' first. Next will be my Harry Potter one. I'm not really feeling better, but I'm starting to get a hang of it, so I'm more used to the pain now and how to handle school. You guys can also probably tell that my writing style has changed. I'm sorry about that. I hope you enjoyed this. The overall count has come to this: 3 for some Iruka/Naruko love, 0 for father/daughter relationship. So, officially, this will be a love story. I will also be changing things, as you can probably tell…and insulting has become a part of my writing. Sorry…it was accidental but I just hate Sakura…and I edited the mistakes in the earlier chapter. Thanks for reading!**_


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